Ashleys POV:

I wake up in my bed with her name in my mind Laurel. I remember the last thing I ever said to my best friend, Look at you Laurel your’e pathetic, nobody wants you so stay away from me.” I remember how her face crumbled, and how I didn’t apologise I just cowardly ran away. I wish this was all some crazy, twisted night mare and when I find my way out of it, everything will be alright again, because Laurel can’t be dead, she just can’t be. I hear a knock on my door and I hoarsely say “Come in.” My mother comes in, she is pale and looks devastated she sits down on my bed and strokes my hair “Oh Ash sweetheart I’m so sorry.” “Is Laurel really-“ I can’t finish my sentence because saying the words out loud would make me feel like I had confirmed her death, right now I can almost imagine Laurel is safe at home. My mother nods and I break down into a fresh flood of tears. “Ashley I just wanted to say, I know you two were arguing before… but you and Laurel were closer than sisters you would have made it up so don’t you dare think that she died hating you, Laurel loved you” I nod silently even though I know Laurel would never have forgiven me for this, I betrayed her.

Laurels funeral is packed, sombre faces dressed all in black all merge together and soon I cannot tell one grief-stricken person from another. I cast a glance around the crowded church, Luke isn’t here. Kindly people pat me on the back consolingly, but I catch my name in whispered conversations. I look the part, in my black respectable dress and shiny shoes I look like I belong among this crowd but I want to scream at some of the fakes I see around me, everyone is acting like they knew Laurel so well but they didn’t I was her best friend, we planned our whole lives together and she would have despised people using her death in this twisted way just as much as I do.

The crowd parts as me and my family make our way towards the front pew. There is Laurel’s mother, but I have to look twice to make sure its really her, she looks like she should be the one in the coffin. Her face is ghostly white and her eyes pop out of her gaunt face, they are blood shot she sees me and beckons me over. We have hardly spoken the twelve years I have known Laurel but know she wraps her arms tightly around me and we hug so tightly I feel like I will break into pieces. I struggle to hold back my grief but my tears flow steadily and silently down my face. She breaks away from our embrace and I have a chance to look around at our pew, to my surprise Greg, her husband isn’t there. As if she can read my mind she says “Me and Greg are separating, I never should have kept him after what he did to my baby girl, I just wish I could tell her how much I loved her. She knew didn’t she?” she begs me. There is nothing I can say except nod, even though Laurel didn’t know.

The service begins and the priest drones on about the lively, beautiful teenager who brightened up so many lives. I want to scream at him, that wasn’t Laurel I should be up there telling them about my best friend, but i hold my emotions inside. The rest of the service goes back in a flash, the only memorable part is when I walk up to her mahogany coffin, saying goodbye even though she has already gone. She looks peaceful and serene her face glowing and black curls framing her face. “Laurel, I’m so sorry for everything, I love you so much and I always will please if you can hear this forgive me.”

As we are leaving the church I see Jade coming up to me, I lift my head expecting her to hug me and expecting to cry all over again. But when she sees me her eyes narrow in disgust she grabs my arms and hisses “You disgust me Ashley, how could you do that to your best friend.” I stare at her startled no one has ever looked at me with such hatred in their eyes I side step out of her way her words ringing in my head.

I walk in a daze to the courtyard outside, then I feel someone grab my hand urgently, its Luke. He looks as bad as I feel but still so handsome. “Ashley I need to show you something.”he says urgently and then pulls out his phone he brings up a page and shows it to me its an Instagram post posted today from our school’s gossip account GrangeHillScandal he taps on the most recent post and I gasp in recognition, I know the two people in the picture it’s me and Luke kissing, the caption below reads: "Laurel Irwin kisses her best friends boyfriend Luke Hemmings the day before she ‘mysteriously' died.” it has over 400 likes and 300 comments.” All I can think is who would do this to me?

Notes

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